


the woods are just trees

by angelsdemonsducks



Series: tumblr prompts [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff, Gen, but that's not very important, it's only mentioned but janus' parents are kind of shitty, what's important is that janus is ride-or-die for his nerd friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsdemonsducks/pseuds/angelsdemonsducks
Summary: To be woken up at this time is absolutely egregious. So, he does the only rational thing and stomps across the room, flinging open his curtains, ready to rip into the genius that thought this was a good idea.And then pauses.From the other side of the windowpane, the genius that thought this was a good idea gives a little wave.Logan invites Janus on a plant-harvesting expedition in the woods. Janus would be more enthusiastic if it weren't the middle of the night.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: tumblr prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843297
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99





	the woods are just trees

**Author's Note:**

> For this tumblr prompt: Platonic loceit, 26- “Hold on. You’re telling me that you want to go out to the creepy woods in the middle of the night on a full moon? Really? Really?” I'd really love if you did something fluffy, but do whatever takes your fancy!!
> 
> Title from the Prologue of Into the Woods.

Janus is woken by a gentle, persistent tapping on his window.

At first, he tries to ignore it, tries to roll back over and go back to sleep, but the tapping continues undeterred, and finally, he sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes. His phone helpfully informs him that it is 2:16 in the morning, which might not be so terrible if he had stayed awake to get here, but to be woken up at this time is absolutely egregious.

So, he does the only rational thing and stomps across the room, flinging open his curtains, ready to rip into the genius that thought this was a good idea.

And then pauses.

From the other side of the windowpane, the genius that thought this was a good idea gives a little wave, motioning for him to open the window, and Janus glares even as he acquiesces.

“Logan,” he hisses, “what the hell?”

Logan blinks at him owlishly, as if it’s not the darkest hours of the morning, as if this is a regular occurrence, as if Janus’ parents won’t kill him if they find out that he’s speaking to his friend through his window at this time of night. And Janus wants so badly to be angry, and he is, but some part of him is intrigued, wants to know what could possibly be so urgent as to prompt a clandestine meeting of this sort.

“Good morning,” Logan says, infuriatingly casual. “Would you like to come harvesting with me?”

Janus stares, dumbfounded. That… does not sound urgent.

“Logan,” he says, “are you _aware_ that it’s two in the morning?”

“Of course,” Logan says. “Two eighteen, to be precise. I would have been here sooner, but this was the earliest I could slip out.”

He says all of this matter-of-factly, as if this meeting was entirely expected, just delayed. Logan does this sometimes, forgets that the rest of the world doesn’t move on his speed. What is obvious to him is not always obvious to everyone else, and while Janus is sure that _Logan_ believes he has a good reason for being here, he is also sure that Logan has entirely overlooked the fact that he needs to elaborate on just what that reason is, rather than expecting Janus to know.

“It’s two in the morning,” he reiterates, deciding that he can’t possibly put too fine a point on this fact, “which is typically when people like to be asleep, Logan. Just what do you want to go harvest that can’t wait until a more reasonable hour, or for that matter, that you can’t do with someone who doesn’t mind being sleep deprived?”

Logan completely ignores his acerbic tone, which is typical of him. He unslings his bag from his shoulder and goes digging inside of it, coming up with a weathered brown notebook. Janus recognizes it easily, and recognizes the contents as Logan flips through it, the meticulously drawn diagrams, the notes written in cramped, slanting handwriting. Logan takes his studies more seriously than most of the practicing alchemists Janus has met, and this notebook contains years’ worth of research. He guards it zealously, and the fact that he trusts Janus enough to allow him to see it never fails to astound him.

“Here,” he says, and holds the page out for Janus’ inspection. Janus takes the book gingerly, eyes flicking over the entry that Logan indicated. The illustration is a delicate depiction of a tangle of vines, thin and curling and glowing pale blue. _Infused Moon Ivy_ , it says, and Janus frowns as he reads the description.

“Grows only on fall nights with the wind blowing from the east and a blue moon in the sky,” he says doubtfully, and looks up to meet Logan’s eyes. “These conditions are met?”

Logan smirks at him, pointing upward. Janus follows the direction of his finger, and sees the moon hanging in the air above them, shining bright and full.

“There is a strong easterly wind tonight,” Logan informs him. “And though midnight is the most traditional hour for gathering components such as this, three o’clock should serve nearly as well. If I can find some, its properties should successfully balance out the sunflower essence in my memory enhancement project.” His voice rises with his excitement, and Janus nervously casts a glance behind him, as if the additional noise will summon his parents. It’s unlikely, but still, he would really rather not have to try to explain this to them.

“Your notes also say that it only grows in dark, damp places,” he points out, letting his weariness bleed into his voice. “We’d have to go out into the woods.”

Logan nods. “Well, yes, it would be a bit of a walk, but if we left now, we would arrive in plenty of time to begin a search.”

“That’s not my point,” he replies, and resists the urge to sigh. “Just, hold on. You’re telling me that you want to go out to the creepy woods in the middle of the night during a full moon? Really? _Really_? You don’t know what kinds of things might be out there. What if we run into a werewolf?” He pauses. “Gods below, I sound like Virgil. But you get my point, right?”

Logan frowns at him, adjusting his spectacles. “Well, yes,” he says. “However, I believe the chances of running into a werewolf at all to be slim, much less one that would wish us harm. And in the case of other creature, magical or otherwise, I have brought precautions.” He shakes his bag, as if to make his point. “The usual preparations, silver and iron and salt and the like. But I hardly believe that the fae will be waiting to ambush us in the local park. In fact, I’m not sure that your standards of ‘creepiness’ match mine at all, if you believe that the woods there are unsettling.”

Janus breathes out through his nose. Logan has a point, as usual, and truly, he doesn’t believe they’ll be at much risk. It’s only that this is very much not how he wants to spend the rest of his night. Especially not on a school night; on weekends, it’s a fifty-fifty chance as to whether his parents will let him sleep in, but the option is out of the question on weeknights. And he won’t be able to claim sickness to get out of school attendance either; he’s fairly certain that his parents would force him to go even if he was actually dying.

But looking at Logan, at the slight flush in his cheeks and the barely restrained motion as he rocks back and forth on his heels, he is tempted. Improving the standard memory enhancement potion has been Logan’s passion project for months, and he looks as if he truly believes that this will be a breakthrough.

And Logan came to him. Not any of their other friends. _Him_.

“You wouldn’t rather somebody else go along?” he checks. “Virgil, perhaps? He has an odd knack for tracking down magic.”

Logan’s brow furrows. “I am aware,” he says. “But Virgil is not the one who has been supporting me as I work on this. If it’s going to be anyone, it should be you.”

Something in his stomach does a little flip at that, a delighted twirl. He has known Logan for more than three years now, since the moment they were alchemy lab partners their freshman year of high school. Janus had expected him to react the same way everyone else does upon meeting him, to stare at the left side of his face at the very least, the side that has been covered in thick yellow scales since the moment he was born. Most people recoil, and some even scream; school up to that point had been a lesson in ostracization. From the very start, his peers labeled him disgusting and unclean, no matter how many times he tried to explain that his curse is not contagious, that he was born with its effects already in place, that he never did anything to deserve it.

Even his own parents dislike him, though they try to disguise it. They push him constantly to do better, to be better, as if academic achievement will make up for the fact that in their eyes, their son is permanently disfigured.

He expected his high school years to be no different than the rest of his schooling. Expected to end up alone once again. He’d even persuaded himself that he didn’t mind, prepared himself for the bullying, for the name-calling, prepared himself to hear _snake_ and _freak_ and _monster_. That is, if anyone bothered to acknowledge his presence at all.

But then, Logan looked at him as if he was a person. As if he was no different from anyone else. And Janus spent their first few lab sessions on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the disgust or the fear to come, because surely, _surely_ it had to be there. But aside from a few questions about his curse and the way it worked, worded clumsily and asked awkwardly, but startlingly genuine, there was nothing.

And for the first time in his life, Janus had a friend. Someone who liked him, who wanted to get to know him. Someone he could talk to, rely on, _be_ with without having to stay on his guard.

To this day, he’s not certain that Logan understands how much that meant to him. Still means to him.

“I understand if you don’t wish to accompany me,” Logan says. He tries to sound nonchalant, but Janus picks up on the minute slump of his shoulders. “I… do realize that it is rather late. My apologies, I don’t believe I thought this through all the way.”

Janus sighs, feeling a reluctant smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

“Well, I’m awake now, aren’t I?” he says. “This is _absolutely_ how I wanted to spend my night, but you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if I let you go by yourself and you ended up trapped in a faerie circle or something equally embarrassing, and we can’t have that.”

Logan makes an offended sound, but he, too, has begun to smile, the light returning to his eyes. “I’ve never been trapped in a faerie circle in my life,” he says. “I know better than that.”

He rolls his eyes. “Right, because you’re always so good at remembering to watch where you’re going,” he says. “Give me a moment, let me grab a jacket and shoes.”

Logan waits patiently for him as he tugs on a few layers to ward off the fall chill. When he’s sufficiently bundled, he clambers over the windowsill, landing softly in the grass by his friend’s side.

“I expect you to have me back before my alarm goes off,” he says. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that my parents will murder me if they find out I’m doing this.”

And Logan grins, and somehow, that makes Janus feel worlds better. “Of course,” he agrees. “I imagine my parents would as well. Perhaps they would bury me next to you.”

“How poetic,” he quips. “We’ll have to have Moon Ivy planted on our graves. Lead the way.”

He gestures, and Logan takes the lead, and together, they set out. It feels a bit like an adventure, like the world is just made up of the two of them and everything else is silent and still under the cover of night, only the moon to light their way.

It takes half an hour to get to the park, and twice that long to find any ivy at all, and by that time, Janus is cold and more than a little bit miserable. But looking at Logan’s face, elated and filled with wonder as he takes the first clipping, tiny and glowing blue in his palm, Janus can’t help but think that this was worth it.

Especially when Logan turns to him, staring at him with that same look of wonder, of excitement.

_Yes,_ Janus thinks. _Definitely worth it._ And really, that’s all there is to it.

**Author's Note:**

> This reminded me just how much I love urban fantasy aus, so I had a lot of fun with this. I hope y'all enjoyed!
> 
> I'm @whenisitenoughtrees on tumblr, if you'd ever like to scream at me, or just come hang out in companionable silence.


End file.
